Ten Easy Fermented Vegetable Recipes for Beginners (2024)

FAQs

What is the easiest vegetable to ferment? ›

Cabbage is a relatively inexpensive and easy vegetable to ferment, and there are many options for creating flavors you might like. Experiment with herbs and spices such as ginger, garlic, hot pepper, caraway seeds, curry powder, and turmeric.

Vegetables are possibly the easiest and quickest fermentation: cut the vegetables, place in glass jars and submerge completely in the brine for 1-2 days until fermented (you'll know it's ready once the ferment has developed a ˜tangy' taste). Then, keep the jar in cold storage.

“There's no vegetable you can't ferment,” he said, but added that leafy greens such as kale — because of their chlorophyll content — aren't to most people's liking. During an NPR interview, Katz explained that pickling and fermentation are not the same, although they are “overlapping” categories.

Flexi Says: Individuals who should avoid fermented foods include those who are immunocompromised or have certain allergies or dietary restrictions. For example, those with yeast allergies, histamine intolerance or on a low-sodium diet may need to limit or avoid fermented foods.

The foods that give your body beneficial probiotics are those fermented using natural processes and containing probiotics. Live cultures are found in not only yogurt and a yogurt-like drink called kefir, but also in Korean pickled vegetables called kimchi, sauerkraut, and in some pickles.

Some of the most widely available include kombucha, yogurt, aged/raw cheeses, sauerkraut, pickles, miso, tempeh, natto and kimchi. Other healthy foods that are fermented include apple cider vinegar, wine, sourdough bread, cottage cheese and coconut kefir.

What is simplest type of fermentation? ›

hom*olactic fermentation (producing only lactic acid) is the simplest type of fermentation. Pyruvate from glycolysis undergoes a simple redox reaction, forming lactic acid. Overall, one molecule of glucose (or any six-carbon sugar) is converted to two molecules of lactic acid: C₆H₁₂O₆ → 2 CH₃CHOHCOOH.

After the first 5 days, the fermentation process slows down, and the flavours become more complex. The longer you wait, however, the more likely your vegetables will be too soft. And if by accident oxygen gets into the container, there is a risk of surface mould.

Salt. Salt provides many functions in the fermentation process: Allows needed water and sugars to be pulled from the vegetables that are used as nutrients by fermenting organisms. Favors the growth of fermenting organisms over spoilage bacteria, yeast, and mold as well as harmful bacteria.

Generally, we recommend using 2% of the weight or volume of the ingredients in salt in your lacto-fermentations. (See How to Choose Between Brining and Dry Salting to find out whether you should calculate from weight or volume). To remember: The less salt (1 to 2% salt), the faster the fermentation.

There are many different methods to ferment vegetables, such as leaving them out in the sun, bruising the vegetables, or submerging them in liquid. If you've been experimenting with how to ferment vegetables at home, you may be familiar with the process of making your own fermented vegetables with salt and water.